If New Jersey wanted Quinn Hughes…

Immediately after the Canucks selected Quinn Hughes with the sixth-overall pick in the 2018 draft, the fantasizing about the Hughes Boys being the new set of superstar brothers in Vancouver began. It would have been perfect. With Daniel and Henrik Sedin retiring last year, Quinn and Jack Hughes could have taken the throne.

Unfortunately, the lottery balls didn’t fall in Vancouver’s favour. With Draft Lottery Champion Taylor Hall (he was a lottery win pick himself, he was traded to Edmonton one-for-one for another lottery win pick, and the Oilers and Devils have won four lotteries with him in the organization) in the mix, the New Jersey Devils jumped from third overall to first overall.

There’s no doubt they’ll be drafting Jack Hughes with the first pick. Hughes is the consensus No. 1 prospect, he had a whopping 112 points in 50 games with the United States Developmental Team, and he just recently racked up 20 points in seven games at the World U-18 World Junior Championship.

If we’re being honest, the Devils probably have the same idea about uniting the Hughes Brothers. There’s a very good chance Ray Shero will jump on the phone with Jim Benning and ask what it’ll cost for the Devils to acquire Quinn to play with Jack next year.

Back in January, Craig Button did a list of his Top-50 NHL affiliated prospects and Quinn Hughes was ranked No. 8. He scored 33 points in 32 games for the University of Michigan and then racked up three assists in five games for the Canucks after signing his entry-level deal.

He’s obviously a blue-chip prospect and is somebody the Canucks are planning to build their blueline around, but if the Devils badly wanted to unite the Hughes Brothers, what would it take for you let him go? A lot, right? Would you even consider it?

26 Comments |

Hughes was drafted at 7, and I’m not sure what you mean by Hall being traded one-for-one to Edmonton for another lottery win pick.

Any conversation about Hughes would have to start with Will Butcher (since the Devils obviously aren’t trading their first round pick). Butcher on his own probably isn’t enough, but Butcher plus a solid prospect and a pick might make sense.

NJ would have to make two deals, one with Chicago, Colorado or LA to get their first round pick, then trade it to us so we could draft Byram. It would probably cost them a player like Hischier, and then some.

If somehow NJ can get us a pick that lands Byrum, I would trade Hughes for that pick, Smith, and another first next year, which is a even a deeper draft, and they will likely win the draft again next year.

Nope. Other than Smith, New Jersey has nothing to offer off their roster (excluding Hischier) or prospect pool. They’d have to offer a couple 1st round draft picks plus Smith for me to even think about it.

Which is virtually improbable. The last major trades involving the Top 5 was in 2010 and 2008. Going back farther, it’s mostly just moving up within the Top 5. No way NJ is going to spend the few assets they have to get the #2, only to flip it for Q.Hughes.

I don’t see it happening. In order to give up QH you’d have to insist on Ty Smith and probably one of Zacha or Bratt and the 2nd from his year, possibly the 1st from next year or Hischier and a bunch of picks. Their best prospect is likely Blackwood but we don’t need another goalie in the system. Honestly, it makes little sense — QH is the best D prospect in our system by a long shot and one of the better young D prospects in the league. Giving him up when we’re so weak on D anyway can only happen if the Devils give up a boatload of prospects and that doesn’t really make sense for them

I think they have something to give but it’s a whole lot of lottery picks, the best of which they obviously WON’T give up (the #1). I don’t think QH is untouchable if you really were to get something absurd like 8 picks in this draft (everything other than the 1st) and their first 2 or 3 picks next year. But in a hard cap era that is a terrible idea for NJ and I don’t think they believe QH is worth that much (and he isn’t).

I would only do that if they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.
Their best young RHD, their top prospect in the minors, 2019 2nd rounder, 2020 1st and 3rd rounder, 2021 2nd rounder and they take Loui off our hands.

I said it before, I’ll say it again: Unless there’s a bonafide legit #1 dman coming the other way, No! No! No!
1) only 2 teams that I can think of in the expansion era (going all the way back to the 70’s) Carolina & Pittsburgh’s most recent cup, have won a cup without a stud dman controlling 25 minutes a game.
2) Dammit just once I want a star dman on our team, do we want to see if it takes another 50 years to draft another?
No! No! No!

If they could make a trade for a pick that would allow Van to acquire Byram AND sweeten the pot with significantly (Butcher, Zacha, 2020 1st), I’d consider it. But Hughes has already shown he can play at NHL level, so even that is a risk

I like to bat around ideas like this as much as anyone but I just can’t see there being a trade for a Hughes brother going either way. Neither the assets, team situation, or GM appetite for risk give even a glimmer of hope for a blockbuster.

If the Canucks had someone like a young Schnieder and the #2 pick, sure start speculating. As is there’s just nothing here imo

Ty Smith, Michael McLeod, and this years second rounder and next years first. Basically I don’t want to trade him. But If they did come to the table with this offer I think you have to strongly consider it. But that’s what it would take for this armchair GM.